Hanger steak with potato mash

Hanger steak with mash, charred onions and gravy is a perfect meal, if you like simplicity and big flavours. Since the hanger steak must be served rare or medium rare to avoid toughness, and the gravy is made of only three ingredients, the meal is quick and easy to make and yet very delicious.

Hanger steak, or onglet in French, is a piece of meat found near the kidneys and spine of cattle. The texture is quite grainy and it resembles flank steak. Some say hanger steak is the most tender cut of an animal, and for many years a hanger steak was known as “butcher’s steak”, because butchers would keep it for themselves. However, the meat gets very dry and tough if overcooked, so always serve it rare or medium rare. If you don’t like rare meat, don’t buy hanger steak.

For many years hanger steak was a forgotten piece of meat in Denmark, or maybe the butchers just kept the cut in the dark, but 5 years ago the cut emerged on the menu of several restaurants. People started asking about the cut, and soon well-stocked butchers started selling hanger steak. Unfortunately many people still don’t know the cut, and it is impossible to find hanger steak in a normal food market or grocery store. Luckily, I know a small slaughterhouse nearby and I am able to buy all the hangers steaks I need, and at very reasonable prices. If the meat is not sold as hanger steak, it is minced. What a shame!

Since a hanger steak takes only a short time to cook, I wanted a gravy equally easy. Charred shallots, beef stock, a bit of butter and the delicious juices left when the steak has rested makes a perfect gravy. Serve it with creamy mash and fresh parsley.

Nutrition Info

Instructions

Remove the hanger steak from the fridge 30-45 minutes before cooking. With a very sharp knife cut down the middle of the hanger steak and remove the long, inedible membrane. Trim of any tissue and fat. You are now left with two pieces of meat, usually unequal in size. Leave to rest on the kitchen table. Allow the meat to adjust to room temperature.

Boil the potatoes in plenty of lightly salted water.

Heat a pan on medium to high heat. Place the onions on the hot pan without any oil or butter. Allow them to char, then turn. Add the stock to the pan and let it reduce to about 150 ml. Bring the heat down to low.

Meanwhile, season the hanger steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat up a large pan on high heat. Add a bit of olive oil and cook the meat 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on size. You want a beautiful caramelized surface, bringing out the lovely umami flavour, but the middle rare or medium rare. Remove from the pan, cover in tin foil and rest for 5-8 minutes.

Drain the potatoes, put them back in the pan and allow them to dry. Mash, then add milk, 20 g butter and stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Add 10 g butter to the sauce. Whisk until uniform, then add any juices from the resting steak. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the meat into strips about 3 cm wide, slice diagonally against the grain.

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